You think you know the story of King Henry VIII and his 5th wife? This novel explores Queen Catherine Howard's other relationships— who she was before she was Queen. This story follows Katherine Tylney, closest confidant to the Queen. She always walked in the shadow of Cat, but stood next to her through thick and thin even, unfortunately, in the face of death.

I've just started watching the Tudors, so was quite excited to read this before I got to his 5th wife in the show. I was not at all disappointed. I really like reading historical fiction from different perspectives. This was of Cat Howard's friend from before she was Queen. I appreciated the research (or obsession) that was involved with writing this story. Katherine Tylney was a real person and so it was wonderful seeing things fictionalized from her eyes. It did pass a bit slowly, mostly because I already knew how things turned out, a small problem with stories that are based on history. This was a very well done story about how things may have been in the court of Queen Catherine Howard and you should definitely check it out if you can. If you have any interest in King Henry VIII or historical fiction, I can not recommend this one enough.

First Line:"'You're not going to steal anything.'"

Favorite Line:"Nothing but bile and self-loathing spilled from my mouth."

2 comments:

I just finished reading The King's Rose, another book based on Catherine Howard. I am really excited to read this one also since I've heard only good things. I love historical fiction and I love reading about Henry and his wives. I haven't watched the show though and I really want to. Great review :)